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But if there aren't enough workers to give the pay increase to, then what? Reducing the pool of workers (Brexit) doesn't sold the wage problem. If a productio

But if there aren't enough workers to give the pay increase to, then what? Reducing the pool of workers (Brexit) doesn't sold the wage problem. If a production line requires 30 people, and there are only 20... increasing their wages won't help. It won't encourage additional staff, as company B to Z is doing the same, and people aren't out of work because the wages are too low. Increasing minimum wage is the better way to do it.

fergie 5y ago
Good question. You have to understand that "labour shortage" is code for "I cant find workers for the price that I would like". Clearly there isn't (and can't be) and actual shortage of workers, there can only be increased competition between employers for available workers. Its worth noting that in recent history, the times when democracies have been closest to actual labour shortages (post WWI and WWII) have in fact been correlated with economic booms.
- jenscow 5y ago
  The pool of workers available to UK companies has just been significantly and suddenly reduced. There is an actual shortage - the number of vacancies has exceeded the number of unemployed, without even taking skill into consideration.
Levitz 5y ago
The kind of company that can survive in an economy paying X doesn't necessarily survive if they later have to pay 120% of X. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing either, that kind of company probably wouldn't have existed to begin with if inequality wasn't brutal nowadays.
- shartacct 5y ago
  Zero companies are going under from increasing wages for their lowest earnings workers by 20%. The places hurting most are fast food and restaurants which have very little actual payroll cost once you amortize the amount of food they serve per hour. Increasing wages from $15/hr to (an absurd example) $50/hr at a mcdonald's here would cost less than 35c per customer assuming they serve at least 100 customers per hour (easily more in peak time). The cost increase over the last 10y at every fast food place and restaurant near me has vastly exceeded 35 cents. Wage increases are inevitable and stagnation is only sustainable until normal people are priced out of living entirely and decide to flip the table. They can easily afford it. If you dig into any of these companies finances you will see that payroll is generally less than 20% of their overall costs. In my area most workers are flocking to warehouse work as a major american retailer has bumped their starting wage to $25.50/hr plus benefits and is literally hiring people without any sort of phone screen or face to face interview. You will out a web form and get a start date by email.

fergie 5y ago

Good question. You have to understand that "labour shortage" is code for "I cant find workers for the price that I would like". Clearly there isn't (and can't be) and actual shortage of workers, there can only be increased competition between employers for available workers. Its worth noting that in recent history, the times when democracies have been closest to actual labour shortages (post WWI and WWII) have in fact been correlated with economic booms.

jenscow 5y ago
The pool of workers available to UK companies has just been significantly and suddenly reduced. There is an actual shortage - the number of vacancies has exceeded the number of unemployed, without even taking skill into consideration.

Levitz 5y ago

The kind of company that can survive in an economy paying X doesn't necessarily survive if they later have to pay 120% of X. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing either, that kind of company probably wouldn't have existed to begin with if inequality wasn't brutal nowadays.

shartacct 5y ago
Zero companies are going under from increasing wages for their lowest earnings workers by 20%. The places hurting most are fast food and restaurants which have very little actual payroll cost once you amortize the amount of food they serve per hour. Increasing wages from $15/hr to (an absurd example) $50/hr at a mcdonald's here would cost less than 35c per customer assuming they serve at least 100 customers per hour (easily more in peak time). The cost increase over the last 10y at every fast food place and restaurant near me has vastly exceeded 35 cents. Wage increases are inevitable and stagnation is only sustainable until normal people are priced out of living entirely and decide to flip the table. They can easily afford it. If you dig into any of these companies finances you will see that payroll is generally less than 20% of their overall costs. In my area most workers are flocking to warehouse work as a major american retailer has bumped their starting wage to $25.50/hr plus benefits and is literally hiring people without any sort of phone screen or face to face interview. You will out a web form and get a start date by email.